O.C. charities split between Chile, Haiti

March 1, 2010

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Residents reach out to catch merchandize thrown from a market being looted in Concepcion, Chile, Monday, March 1, 2010. An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile early Saturday. The government sent soldiers and ordered a nighttime curfew Sunday to quell looting. AP Photo/ Natacha Pisarenko

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A man throws goods from a window as a market is looted in Concepcion street, Chile, Monday, March 1, 2010. Security forces said they arrested dozens of people for violating an anti-looting curfew. AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

Firefighters search for victims on a collapsed building in Concepcion, Chile, Monday, March 1, 2010. An 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck central Chile early Saturday, Feb. 27, killed at least 708 people and destroyed or badly damaged 500,000 homes. AP Photo/ Natacha Pisarenko

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A man holds up a Chilean flag in a flooded area after an earthquake in Pelluhue, some 322 kms, about 200 miles, southwest of Santiago, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. A 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Chile early Saturday. AP Photo/Roberto Candia

A bus is seen parked by a destroyed road in Talcahuano, Chile, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010, following a devastating earthquake that struck Chile early Saturday, Feb. 27. AP Photo/ Aliosha Marquez

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A resident looks at a destroyed house in Constitucion, Chile, Monday, March 1, 2010, after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile early Saturday, Feb. 27. The quake hit 200 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of the capital and the epicenter was just 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city. AP Photo/Roberto Candia

Residents reach out to catch merchandize thrown from a market being looted in Concepcion, Chile, Monday, March 1, 2010. An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile early Saturday. The government sent soldiers and ordered a nighttime curfew Sunday to quell looting. AP Photo/ Natacha Pisarenko

The Chilean earthquake over the weekend will stretch local and national charities to the maximum in an already down economy, but many non-profits have experience dealing with multiple disasters, charities say.

"This is not the first time there's back to back disasters," said Jenise Steverding, director of programs for the Buena Park-based Giving Children Hope that sent $5 million worth of relief supplies to Haiti in the aftermath of the temblor there. "We're getting started on Chile relief because we have a lot of energy and this is what we do."

The group was planning to speak with field partners in Chile on Monday to figure out the needs, she said.

The Giving Children Hope and other charities in Orange County will have to scramble and shift some of the focus from Haiti to Chile.

"Obviously this is not ideal but this is your (work) and you respond the best you can," Steverding said. "We need community support to respond and hopefully people understand the magnitude (of the Chile quake, which) at 8.8 was 501 times greater than the Haitian quake."

The United Nations says it will rush aid deliveries to Chile after the government asked for help.

U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs says Chile officially made its request Monday, two days after the quake struck about 200 miles south of the capital, Santiago, and killed more than 700 people.

Byrs told the AP that the global body was now "ready to take action."

Before the request, international aid groups had sent some funds and experts. But their action was limited as Chilean officials were busy assessing the destruction from the earthquake and the needs of up to 2 million affected people.

Steverding said charities stand ready to help, despite being already stretched thin before the latest catastrophe.

"People didn't plan for an earthquake," she said, "Their lives are destroyed regardless of the economy."

LOCAL HELP

The Salvation Army is responding to the devastation in Chile, which is one of 119 countries in the world where it already has a presence with a divisional headquarters located in the capital Santiago.

"It's slightly overwhelming to have two major disasters on top of each other," said Barry Frost, spokesman for the Salvation Army in Tustin. But the group "has always been able to respond."

"We've seen it time and time again when there's disaster, people are willing to open their pocketbooks and wallets because they know they might not be able to give as much as they did in the past, but we find that more people give and you end up with the money you need," Frost said.

The Salvation Army is asking for cash donations rather than in kind goods.

A bulletin issued to all U.S. Salvation Army offices Monday morning from the charity's national headquarters in Arlington, Va., said that following the weekend quake in Chile, the group's "emergency services were immediately mobilized to provide support and comfort. International financial assistance is already on the way."

The Salvation Army has been in Chile since 1909 and offers social services including hospitals, schools for impoverished children and adult rehabilitation, the bulletin said.

IMMEDIATE NEEDS

The immediate response is to provide food, water, first-aid kits, emergency packets, blankets, candles and other urgently required supplies, it read, adding that the Salvation Army in Chile is housing 60 displaced families in tents on the grounds of its center near Concepcion.

"People have flocked to the streets as numerous aftershocks continue to pummel the country, severely affecting older buildings in the more historical areas of the larger cities," the bulletin said.

As the largest humanitarian network in the world, the Red Cross has both the experience and the capacity to respond to multiple disasters at the same time, said Bridget Kelly, an organization spokeswoman in Santa Ana.

"We've done this before," she said, adding that last year the Red Cross responded to a series of major disasters that hit in Asia within a week.

The organization has made an initial $50,000 available for relief efforts and "we stand ready to mobilize additional support, including relief supplies, trained personnel and additional financial assistance."

Like the Salvation Army, the Red Cross too is seeking cash donations for the Chilean effort. And, while figures aren't immediately available, the Red Cross said donors come through in crisis.

Within minutes following the Haiti earthquake, people with helicopters, retired nurses, doctors on vacation, and out-of-work contractors were calling the Red Cross to offer their assistance to ferry supplies or to go to Haiti.

Response to the Chile temblor from the public is coming in as well, Kelly said.

"We have heard from people wanting to go there and help, (but) the best way people can help is by donating dollars," she said. "Even in tough economic times, we're seeing the generosity of people to help in this global community."

A regional Red Cross disaster expert is now in Chile working to assess the situation, Kelly said, and American Red Cross workers are en route. In addition, the Chilean Red Cross too has extensive experience responding to disasters, she added.

The Diocese of Orange is encouraging the more than 1.2 million parishioners in Orange County to contribute to Catholic Relief Services efforts in Chile, a spokesman said.

Donations can be made directly to Catholic Relief or mailed to the diocese marked for the Chilean relief effort. The service is one of 164 Catholic organizations worldwide that are part of Caritas Internationalis, which has an office in Chile.

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To give to the Salvation Army, donors can visit salvationarmyusa.org. Also, donors can text the word "chile" to 52000 to make a one-time $10 donation billed to their cell phone account.

Call 1-800-salarmy

Contact the writer: To donate to Giving Children Hope, call 714-523-4454 or visit GChope.org or visit or write to 8332 Commonwealth Ave., Buena Park.

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